Kenya building collapse traps people under rubble

People are trapped under rubble after a six-storey building collapsed in Kenya.

The residential building in a poverty-stricken area of capital city Nairobi collapsed under heavy rain and flooding on Friday.

A search and rescue team has pulled three children and an adult from the building’s remains in Huruma, according to the Kenya Red Cross. It says 150 building units and adjacent homes are affected.

TV footage showed Kenya’s National Youth Service and firefighters removing stones by hand and a crowd cheering when a child was pulled from the rubble.

Hours-long traffic jams caused by flooded roads delayed rescue teams trying to reach the scene. Kenya is in the middle of its April-May rainy season.

President Uhuru Kenyatta ordered an audit of all buildings in the country last year after eight structures collapsed, killing at least 15 people.

The report from the audit by the National Construction Authority found that 58% of buildings in the capital were unfit to live in. The majority of Nairobi’s population live in low income areas or slums.